So, Hope Solo is running for president of the US Soccer Federation. It turns out the record-breaking goalkeeper is also trying to solve a mystery. When she is asked why the federation’s relationship with Soccer United Marketing (SUM) – a for-profit company owned by Major League Soccer that includes MLS commissioner Don Garber as its CEO and Solo’s rival candidate Kathy Carter as its president – is the subject of debate within football circles the World Cup winner is quick to pounce.“We have to get to the bottom of it,” Solo tells the Guardian in a rare interview from her home in North Carolina. “I have my own opinions about it ... I http://www.officialphiladelphiaflyers.com/Adidas-Dale-Weise-Jersey think it has to do with money.”So here we are. While the soccer chatterati in at least 32 other countries is discussing the upcoming World Cup, the talk in the US is about a vote this Saturday to elect a new president of US soccer’s governing body. Normally, most people couldn’t care less. But the US men’s failure to qualify for Russia triggered a blame game http://www.footballbengalsofficialshop.com/Nike-Randy-Bullock-Jersey.html and an election campaign that outgoing president Sunil Gulati has described on more than one occasion as “disgusting”.Last October’s defeat against Trinidad and Tobago is no longer about an Omar Gonzalez own goal. It’s about youth development, the Latino community, top-down governance, the possible demise of MLS side Columbus Crew, and the role of SUM.SUM is a marketing, media, and sponsorship Womens Travis Benjamin Jersey company created by the owners of MLS in 2002. As crazy http://www.49ersofficialauthenticshop.com/57-eli-harold-super-bowl-jersey.html as it sounds Dave Keon Authentic Jersey now, back then no US media company was interested in acquiring broadcast rights to that year’s World Cup (or for the 2006 tournament). SUM stepped up and years later is a major commercial partner of US Soccer, among others. Garber says the company will have injected $300m into the USSF, between 2002 and 2022, when its current agreement expires.SUM is a cash cow for soccer in the US. Here’s where it gets tricky. The company’s board members are MLS owners. Its offices are within MLS offices. Its online presence is one page on the MLS website with email addresses on how Ondrej Pavelec Jersey to advertise or partner with “passionate sports fans” and “the #1 soccer network in North America”.Solo knows all that. She knows a lot about money in US Soccer. She is an advocate for payment parity between the men’s and women’s national teams and is among a group http://www.shopcanadahockeyjersey.com/authentic+duncan+keith+jersey.html of players that filed a wage discrimination complaint against the federation. She says her interest in SUM was piqued over the use of her image in a sponsored promotional video for which she didn’t receive payment.“I didn’t see a dime of it,” Solo claims. “I started to ask questions and told them I didn’t approve the video to go public before the [2016] Olympics. I started to get emails back that were complete attorney jargon basically saying ‘Hope, this is above your pay grade’. Basically, shut your mouth and play soccer. That is when I knew I was barking up a tree they didn’t want me to bark up. Pretty soon after that is when [USSF] Eric Kendricks Womens Jersey fired me for – quote unquote – saying the word ‘coward’.”Solo is one of eight candidates vying for the USSF top job, an unpaid position. The new president will be elected by stakeholders that include a mish-mash of state federations, representatives of professional and amateur players, and even fans. In a process so complicated, some candidates say they aren’t yet sure who all the voting delegates actually are.Gulati, unopposed for 12 years, declined to run in 2018. In a heated campaign, the field is roughly divided into two camps: those representing a status quo and those calling for change. Any type of change. Wait. Where have we heard this story before?

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